To Catch a Thief
by JOVANKA
Summary: When Sophie unexpectedly has an accident and can't run away for once Nate decides its time to have a long overdue conversation about their relationship.


**To Catch a thief.**

**Legal stuff: - Definitely not mine.**

**A/n: - Ok so I'm a new convert to Leverage call it love at first Job if you like so if there are any glaringly obvious mistakes then please accept my apologies in advance. All feedback happily and gratefully accepted.**

"It was an accident how many more times do I need to say I'm sorry..." Nate Ford followed an extremely cranky Sophie as she limped into his apartment on crutches Parker, Elliot and Hardison in tow "Besides the Doctor said it's not a bad break a few weeks and you'll be back to normal ..."

"Bad planning that's what it was" Sophie announced taking refuge on the nearest sofa "And my poor ankle paid the price."

"There was nothing wrong with my planning if you didn't insist on wearing those damn heels on every single job everything would be fine" He huffed.

"Oh so that's it is it? Well perhaps if you spent less time checking out my legs and more time actually planning O Mastermind every job we took wouldn't turn out to be so...shambolic" Sophie fumed.

"Shambolic...shambolic our jobs are not shambolic they are..." Nate appealed to the rest of the team "Guys help me out here."

"Err...well I'd say more ..."Hardison struggled for the right word.

"Challenging" Elliot put in helpfully.

"That's it challenging..." Nate agreed happily "... And for the record Sophie I do not check out your legs."

"Oh puleeese..." Snorted Parker "Kidnappings, homicidal maniacs trying to kill us, Triads, Russian Mafia, even more homicidal maniacs trying to kill us and that's on a good day and you do so check out Sophie's legs I saw you yesterday..."

"Parker" Hardison groaned and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm not a mind reader so sue me besides I didn't ask you to go running down those stairs Soph did I" Nate defended his honour.

"The man had a gun on you; he could have killed you..." Sophie pointed out "What was I supposed to do."

"It was all under control" Nate refused to surrender.

"Of course it was just like Prague" She retorted.

"That's low even for you" Nate said quietly sinking down into a chair.

"Ok...so Hardison don't we have that thing to do..." Eliot said sensing when it was time to go and leave the Mastermind alone with the Grifter.

"Oh yeah the thing...c'mon Parker we got the thing" Hardison agreed.

"What thing" Parker asked innocently.

"The thing" Both Eliot and Hardison yelled in sync, grabbing an arm each they began to propel her towards the door.

"No fair I want to know what happened in Prague" Parker wailed as they left the room "It's just getting good."

"Nate I'm sorry about bringing up Prague that was uncalled for" Sophie apologized genuinely remorseful "I know you did everything you could to save that poor girl's life, it wasn't your fault."

"Still feels like it though" Nate's eyes momentarily filled with regret "Anyway for what it's worth I'm sorry again for your ankle I would never do anything to hurt you Sophie you must know that by now."

"I do...it's just you shouldn't take stupid, unnecessary risks like that" Sophie shook her head.

Suddenly Nate realised why she had been so angry "Sophie were you worried about me is that it" He asked gently.

"Well of course I was" She confessed "You seem to have a death wish just recently and I'm scared you'll do something silly and get yourself killed then I'll have to kill you all over again."

"Truce" He offered wondering if he'd every truly understand what went on Sophie's mind.

"Truce" She agreed.

"Tea" He grinned.

"Yes please" She grinned back.

"Coming right up" He chuckled padding off to his kitchen.

Pottering about his kitchen Nate could see Sophie shift positions on the sofa as she tried to ease her aching ankle and judging by how hard she bit her lip and the look of shear agony on her face it must be hurting pretty badly not that the stubborn fool would ever admit it, no not Sophie Devereux she never allowed anyone to know how she really felt did she? For a moment she was completely unguarded, her face devoid of its usual mask and her silky black hair dangled loosely around her shoulders making her look almost innocent. It took Nate back so many years to the day he'd first seen her, Sophie had been what then seventeen, eighteen years old he guessed since she'd never actually told him how old she was and already an expert con artist and thief. It had been his first solo case a missing Picasso, at twenty four he was the golden boy of the company newly engaged to Maggie and expected to do great things. His record up to then had been flawless B.S.D he liked to think of it Before Sophie Devereux. It had been a lovely Paris spring afternoon and she'd been sitting in a small cafe on the left bank drinking tea of all things when he'd caught up with, for a moment he'd just stood and stared at the waif like girl with the long dark hair and the even darker eyes, eyes filled with such pain. She'd been the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen still was then she seemed to notice him too and their eyes had locked briefly before she took off and he gave chase setting the tone for their entire relationship for years to come. Unfortunately he'd lost her somewhere around Montmartre temporarily anyway but that image had never left him, truth was he thought she was even lovelier now to Nate Sophie grew more beautiful every single day.

"What" Her question woke him from his daydream.

"What..."He stammered back.

"You were staring" She replied.

"Was I" He feigned innocence.

"See I told you so, admit it Nate you were checking out my legs again" She retort cheekily before wincing as she inadvertently moved her ankle.

"It's ok to moan in pain you know" He called over to her "I promise I won't tell a soul, your reputation for British stiff upperlipness is safe with me."

"Now that would never do" Sophie laughed despite her throbbing ankle "Keep calm and carry on that's the British way anything else wouldn't be tolerated I could never show my face in certain parts of London again..."

"Well there is always Paris" He sighed just a little wistfully bringing over her tea and a cup of coffee for himself.

"Paris in the springtime very romantic" Sophie smiled a wicked smile as Nate passed her the cup of tea thinking of a certain blue eyed young man with unruly hair wearing an open necked shirt and no tie long before it was fashionable staring at her from across a crowded plaza "Do you remember."

"I'm not likely to forget am I" Nate smiled too and settled down next to her "You Ms Devereux cost me my unbeaten run, a huge bonus not to mention three days in a Parisian Police cell which I never lived down."

"You should have run faster" Sophie drank her tea.

"Oh I should have run faster" Nate took a swig of coffee "Soph why couldn't you just run slower."

"Then you would have caught me" She shrugged.

"Would that really be so bad Sophie, for me to catch you" Nate asked completely serious now.

"Please don't do this again Nate" Sophie pleaded "We've already decided that we don't want to ruin our friendship haven't we?"

"No 'we' most certainly haven't" Nate put his cup down on a coffee table "You decided for both of us I never got the choice."

"I should go..." Sophie placed her own cup next to his and tried to stand but collapsed back down when the pain in her ankle hit her.

"For once Sophie you can't run away from me, you and I need to talk about this" Nate reached out and covered her hand with his "I want to know what is going on in that head of yours, I want to know what you are feeling, how you feel because I'm so confused half the time you're the ice-maiden pushing me away the rest ...Well the rest you're literally risking life and limb because you're worried about me."

"You planned all this deliberately didn't you, all this derring-do stuff that's been happening lately" She guessed "Nearly getting yourself killed on a regular basis...so I'd do what? Fall into your arms like some heroine in a John Wayne movie and we'd all live happy ever after."

"It worked didn't it? You told me yourself that you were worried about me..." He pointed out.

"If a broken ankle is your idea of worked I suppose so" She grumbled.

"Sophie I swear to you on Sam's memory I never intended for you to get hurt it was genuinely an accident but I needed to know how you felt, I didn't know what else to do since you refuse to give me an honest answer...I don't even know you real name" Nate put forward his case "But yes I'm not too proud to take advantage of the situation for once in your life Soph be honest with us both and tell me what it is you really want."

"I just want you to be happy Nate, I know you think that you're like us, me, Hardison, Parker but you're not your world's oldest living boy scout and I'm a thief, a con artist and much, much worse" She told him truthfully "All I would do is bring you down and I care to much about you to let that happen."

"What about me? What I want?" Nate quizzed her "Doesn't that matter?"

"Nate listen to me" Sophie squeezed his hand tightly "I'm not the picket fences, happy every after type I ruin everything I touch in ways you couldn't possibly dream of and I don't want to lose you, I couldn't bear that."

"Oh Sophie is that what you think" Nate shook his head sadly "I don't know who he was or what he did to hurt you so badly but I'm not him and there is absolutely nothing you have done or ever will do that meant I'd ever leave you."

Sophie flinched as a man's face flashed into her brain, one she'd tried so bloody hard to forget "That's just it you don't know" She whispered tears beginning to trickle down her face "You know Sophie or Catherine or Charlotte or whoever the alias of the week is."

"Then teach me" Nate said simply pulling her into his arms "Trust in me you once told me that I thought with my head but you thought with your heart so what does your heart tell you it wants?"

"You it was always you" Sophie said softly "What happens though when you know the truth."

"Sophie, Catherine or Charlotte I don't care I never did and I never will, I love you" He whispered into her hair "I've loved you since that first day in Paris why do you think I spent all that time chasing you it was the happiest time of my life."

"Was" She murmured uncertainly.

"Till now because I get to spend all day, every day with the woman I love" Nate kissed her forehead and began to move downwards towards her lips "Trouble is she doesn't realise just how wonderful she is and I was kinda hoping she'd let me show her."

"You're such a silly man" Sophie muttered as their lips met "My silly man."

Several weeks later Nate walked Sophie home from the movies now she was clear of the cast on her ankle he'd insisted on taking her out on a date to celebrate, just the two of them their first official outing as a couple. Dinner and a movie had been his suggestion and they had spent a very pleasant evening on the back row of the local Cinema making out like a couple of teenagers.

"Why this movie" She'd asked as they sat down.

"To catch a thief" Nate's eyes twinkled brightly "I thought it was kinda fitting myself."

Now the evening was at an end Sophie steeled herself for what was to come they had reached her apartment and she was about to undertake the most terrifying job she'd ever done, sitting him down on her sofa she'd asked him to wait there then she'd gone into her bedroom and taken the photograph out of the draw by her bed.

"Here this...this is for you" Sophie nervously passed the picture to Nate.

Puzzled Nate to the picture and examined it, it was an old picture which had obviously been damaged and repaired many times over the years of a small dark haired girl in a school uniform smiling happily sitting with an elderly looking lady but what really caught his attention was that both the woman and the child had the same dark eyes...the child had Sophie's eyes. Turning over the photo he read out loud "Grandma and Rachel aged 6..."

"Her name was Sophie she died when I was nine..." Sophie began.

"Thank you...thank you for this" Nate blurted out overwhelmed by the gift she'd given him after so long she'd finally told him her name and he knew what that taken, just how much she loved and trusted him "Thank you Rachel."

Finis.

**A/n: Ok so as far as I'm aware Sophie's real name has never been revealed or exactly how they met but too me she looks like a Rachel and as for Paris well we know Nate chased Sophie throughout Europe and since Paris is the city of romance it just seemed right. Anyhow let me know what you think.**


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